Open to ages 6 and up.

Join in the search of the Black Sea Turtle in south San Diego Bay. Paddling silent kayaks, traverse the warm, shallow waters of South Bay, passing over eel grass beds to look for the backs and heads of turtles rising to breathe. Stinson will teach you about the biology of these magnificent sea creatures, and also relate the fascinating story of San Diego’s turtles—a tale that began in 1855. Price includes equipment and paddling instruction. No previous kayaking or swimming experience is required.

Saturday, December 5; 9 AM–noon
Member $55 per adult; Nonmember $65 per adult
$20 for child age 6–12 paddling in double kayak with parent

Leaders: Margie Stinson

Western, Herring, California, Heermann’s, Ring-billed, and Mew gulls are all part of San Diego life. This course is sure to end your confusion about gull identification. Study plumage patterns from fledgling to maturity. We might also see Bonaparte’s and Glaucous-winged gulls. All participants will receive a reference booklet; bring binoculars and leave field guides in the car.

Saturday, January 9 and Sunday, January 10, 2010; 9 AM–1 PM
Member $30; Nonmember $38

Instructor: Herb Young

This all-day class is designed for the new nature photographer with a point-and-shoot pocket digital camera. Discuss the various operation modes of the cameras and discover the meaning of terms such as aperture, resolution, f-stop, ISO, white balance, and exposure. Learn the concepts of good composition and how to take great photos with a simple camera. The class will include a walk through the Balboa Park’s Cactus Garden or other areas to practice your newfound skills. Finish up by reviewing the images and discussing what to do “after the shoot.” Limited to 12 participants.

Saturday, January 9, 2010;9 AM–2 PM
Member $70; Nonmember $80

Instructor: Larry Stein

Open to ages 6 and up.

Lake Murray is located within the boundary of beautiful Mission Trails Regional Park. This is a great lake for viewing a wide range of resident and migrating birds, including osprey, egrets, herons, ducks and geese. There are picnic tables along the shore for a no-host lunch after the paddle. Price includes equipment and paddling instruction. No previous kayaking or swimming experience is required.

Saturday, January 9, 2010; 9 AM–noon
Member $55 per adult; Nonmember $65 per adult
$20 per child ages 6–12 paddling in a double kayak with a parent

Leaders: Marie Humphrey

Get beyond taking pictures, and instead create beautiful photographs in Yosemite Valley, one of greatest treasures of California. Learn to produce powerful images and develop your “eye” for photography using composition and technique including depth of field, high-dynamic range, and more. Photograph Yosemite’s Horsetail Falls, with February weather ranging from blue skies to winter snow. The post-trip meeting will provide an opportunity to review and critique photos. Students are expected to have a good working knowledge of their cameras, including exposure and aperture. This class is suitable for any format of film or digital camera with manual controls. Class is limited to 9 participants. Visit www.sdnhm.org/itineraries for a complete itinerary.

Classes: Thursday, February 18; 6–9 PM and
Tuesday, March 9, 2010; 6–9 PM
Trip: Thursday, February 25; 8 AM to Sunday, February 28, 2010; 6 PM
$400 per person; Single supplement $230; Optional transportation $200

Leader: Larry Stein

Open to ages 6 and up.

Visit Scammon’s Lagoon, one of Baja California’s most pristine locales and take a boat ride alongside gray whales. Side trips include stops at Guerrero Negro to visit a bird-filled marsh and Vizcaíno Desert to view ancient cave paintings. Price includes transportation, accommodations, travel insurance, and some meals. Passport and Mexican tourist card ($20–$25) required. Visit www.sdnhm.org/itineraries for a complete itinerary.

Thursday, February 25; 6 PM to Sunday, February 28, 2010; 10 PM
Member $520; Nonmember $570; Single supplement $140; $40 third-person-in-room discount

Leaders: Maria and Esther Mitrani

Members Only!

Open to ages 8 and up.

Get up close and personal with gray whales in San Ignacio Lagoon in their winter breeding and calving grounds. Stay at a tented base camp at Punta Piedra. Observe breaching and blowing whales, flocks of shorebirds, and beautiful sunsets. In between whale watching from skiffs and shore, explore mangrove estuaries and the area’s geologic history. Passport and Mexican tourist card ($20–$25) required. Visit www.sdnhm.org/itineraries for a complete itinerary.

Orientation: Tuesday, March 16, 2010; 6:30–8 PM
Trip: Thursday, March 25 to Thursday, April 1, 2010
$1495 per person; Optional transportation $250; Single supplement $250; Deposit $400
Leaders: Museum and Baja Discovery staff

Open to ages 6 and up.

Join in the search of the Black Sea Turtle in south San Diego Bay. Paddling silent kayaks, traverse the warm, shallow waters of South Bay, passing over eel grass beds to look for the backs and heads of turtles rising to breathe. Stinson will teach you about the biology of these magnificent sea creatures, and also relate the fascinating story of San Diego’s turtles—a tale that began in 1855. Price includes equipment and paddling instruction. No previous kayaking or swimming experience is required.

Saturday, December 5; 9 AM–noon
Member $55 per adult; Nonmember $65 per adult
$20 for child age 6–12 paddling in double kayak with parent

Leaders: Margie Stinson

Calling all budding naturalists! Come enjoy an imaginative journey into nature through dynamic readings and visits to exhibitions. Storytime is held every second Thursday of the month. Open to all ages with an adult. Recommended for ages 1–5.

Every second Thursday; 11 AM
FREE with Museum admission to exhibitions

Open to ages 6 and up.

Lake Murray is located within the boundary of beautiful Mission Trails Regional Park. This is a great lake for viewing a wide range of resident and migrating birds, including osprey, egrets, herons, ducks and geese. There are picnic tables along the shore for a no-host lunch after the paddle. Price includes equipment and paddling instruction. No previous kayaking or swimming experience is required.

Saturday, January 9, 2010; 9 AM–noon
Member $55 per adult; Nonmember $65 per adult
$20 per child ages 6–12 paddling in a double kayak with a parent

Leaders: Marie Humphrey

Calling all budding naturalists! Come enjoy an imaginative journey into nature through dynamic readings and visits to exhibitions. Storytime is held every second Thursday of the month. Open to all ages with an adult. Recommended for ages 1–5.

Every second Thursday; 11 AM
FREE with Museum admission to exhibitions

Open to ages 6 and up.

Visit Scammon’s Lagoon, one of Baja California’s most pristine locales and take a boat ride alongside gray whales. Side trips include stops at Guerrero Negro to visit a bird-filled marsh and Vizcaíno Desert to view ancient cave paintings. Price includes transportation, accommodations, travel insurance, and some meals. Passport and Mexican tourist card ($20–$25) required. Visit www.sdnhm.org/itineraries for a complete itinerary.

Thursday, February 25; 6 PM to Sunday, February 28, 2010; 10 PM
Member $520; Nonmember $570; Single supplement $140; $40 third-person-in-room discount

Leaders: Maria and Esther Mitrani

With a growing human population, climate changes, water insecurity, erosion of good soils, peak oil, and dramatic losses in biological diversity all upon us at once, how will we feed ourselves tomorrow? We can, and must, transition to an agricultural and food system that meets the “triple bottom line” of ecologically sustainable, economically viable, and socially just. But there are competing interests around land-use policies, chemical vs. biological inputs, water and property rights, genetic engineering, and control of the food system, to name a few hurdles. Learn more about the current “hot topics” surrounding our agricultural system, and discover ways to be part of the solution.

Tuesday, December 1; 6:30–8 PM
This lecture is part of the Sustainable Planet: Food Lecture Series. Advance registration recommended.
$5 per person
Lecture with Dave Henson, Executive Director, Occidental Arts and Ecology Center

The history of life is commonly represented either as a ladder (scala naturae) or a tree. Although commonly associated with Charles Darwin, representations of the tree of life predate by many years the publication in 1859 of On the Origin of Species. Darwin used trees in his private notebooks over 20 years prior, but it was Jean-Baptiste Lamarck who first published an evolutionary tree of life in 1809. As strange as it may seem, trees of life in the 19th century did not always represent evolution. A number of these trees represented instead multiple creations. Discover the iconography of both evolutionary and creationist trees of life that almost certainly finds its roots in trees.

Tuesday, December 15; 6:30–8 PM
This lecture is part of the Darwin: Evolution|Revolution Lecture Series.
Advance registration recommended.
Member, Senior, Student, Military $10; Nonmember $12
Lecture with J. David Archibald, Ph.D., Curator of Mammals, San Diego State University Vertebrate Collections

Lecture with Angie Tagtow, IATP Food and Society Fellow, Advocates for Good Food

As eaters, we know that our food choices directly influence our health. But many may not realize that what we eat profoundly affects the Earth’s health and our ability to grow healthy food for future generations. Investigate the Iowa food landscape and explore the soil-to-health connection. Learn and how “good food” can boost the health of your family, farm, community, and the Earth. Take home tools that will help you examine our food system with a critical eye. Play Iowa “Good Food” trivia and receive tips on how to support a healthy, green, fair, and accessible food system.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010; 6:30–8 PM
$5 per lecture

Part of the Museum’s Sustainable Planet: Food lecture series.

Learn about a unique approach to combining natural history with food ecology to understand our food systems. Discover the truth behind current food buzzwords used in the media and in grocery stores, such as “local,” “organic,” and “sustainable.” Learn how to foster and promote sustainability in your local food region. Utilizing some original research with birds and monkeys, explore the role that diet flexibility has in shaping the eating habits of both humans and wild animals.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010; 6:30–8 PM

This lecture is part of the Sustainable Planet: Food Lecture Series.
Advance registration recommended.
$5 per person
Lecture with Aaron French, Author and Eco-Chef

It is no surprise that montane species (growing or living in mountainous regions) are regarded as especially prone to extinctions due to global warming. What is perhaps less appreciated is the extent to which montane habitats harbor unique biological diversity. Learn about the evolutionary history of unique montane diversity in California and the tropical rainforests of Australia, and explore the evidence that climate change over the past century already has affected species ranges.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010; 6:30–8 PM
This lecture is part of the Darwin: Evolution|Revolution Lecture Series.
Advance registration recommended.
Member, Senior, Student, Military $10; Nonmember $12

Lecture with Craig Moritz, Ph.D., Director, Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley

At no point in our lifetimes has the interest in gardening, urban agriculture, and local food systems been so intense. It’s coming from all fronts—economic need, challenges presented by climate change, community-development needs, health and nutrition, food security, reconnecting youth with land, changing understandings of how we use space in urban areas, and a growing desire of Americans for civic engagement and participatory democracy. The past has the ability to inform the present. Review historical case studies, learn about current national policies and models, and discover the future work needed to sustain the Victory Garden model as part of the overall local food movement. Also, learn about urban agriculture and how the local food-systems movement is addressing a wide range of challenges facing Americans today.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010; 6:30–8 PM
This lecture is part of the Sustainable Planet: Food Lecture Series. Advance registration recommended.
$5 per person
Lecture with Rose Hayden-Smith, Ph.D., Director of University of California’s Cooperative Extension, Ventura County

Global climate change, competition for use of cropland, population growth, and aging farmers all raise serious questions about our nation’s ability to feed itself over time. Moreover, the relationship between health and diet makes it essential that we focus greater attention on access to healthful, nutritious, and fresh food. Heightened media focus and public interest on food and farming, and a vast network of dynamic community-based organizations reflect that the time for change has arrived. The panel, resulting from the Developing Sustainable Foodsheds Conference in July 2009, will discuss current issues related to the development of foodsheds in the United States.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010; 6:30–8 PM
This Panel Discussion is part of the Sustainable Planet: Food Lecture Series.
Advance registration recommended.
$5 per person
Panel Discussion with members of Roots of Change, moderated by Michael Dimock, President, Roots of Change

Transform into an ecologist for the night while earning your Naturalist badge and starting on your Wildlife Conservation belt loop. Learn why our county is called a biological “hotspot.” Investigate the plants and animals of San Diego County, highlighting poisonous species. Build your own terrarium and explore DARWIN: Evolution|Revolution.

Theme-based overnight programs include General Admission to the Museum, admission to DARWIN: Evolution|Revolution, a giant-screen film, hands-on activities, evening snack, continental breakfast, and a special Museum patch.

Friday, November 20; 6 PM–Saturday, November 21, 2009; 8 AM–This Program is Not Available.
$45 per scout; $30 per leader or adult

Explore the relationship between trees, animals, plants, and even raindrops by studying the wildlife in our environment. Tour ancient San Diego County to “meet” wild animals from the past and learn about their present-day relatives. Come prepared for lots of walking, indoors and out.

Price includes same-day General Admission, excluding separately priced exhibitions. Workshops include a guided walk; come prepared with sturdy shoes and water. Earn two badges in one day! Bring a sack lunch and sign up for both morning and afternoon workshops. Minimum of 10 scouts required for all programs.

Saturday, December 5, 2009; 10 AM–noon–This Program is Not Available.
$13 per scout

From the fluoride in your toothpaste to the roof overhead, rocks and minerals exist in our daily lives in many ways. Rocks tell us stories of the past; learn how to read them by exploring the Museum’s diverse collection of rocks, minerals, and fossils. Enjoy a geology hike and start your own rock collection.

Price includes same-day General Admission, excluding separately priced exhibitions. Workshops include a guided walk; come prepared with sturdy shoes and water. Earn two badges in one day! Bring a sack lunch and sign up for both morning and afternoon workshops. Minimum of 10 scouts required for all programs.

Saturday, December 5, 2009; 1–3 PM –This Program is Not Available.
$13 per scout

Enjoy a unique science adventure at the Museum. Go on a fossil dig, discover the rock cycle, and start a rock collection of your own. A guided nature walk is included.

Price includes same-day General Admission, excluding separately priced exhibitions. Scouts must do additional work outside of the workshop to complete merit badge requirements. Bring a sack lunch.

Saturday, December 12, 2009; 10 AM–2 PM
$24 per scout

Learn the basics of basketry techniques. Review safety procedures while working with tools of the trade. View and identify a variety of finished basket weaves, and create two small baskets using these techniques. Price includes all supplies needed to make both baskets. All merit badge requirements are met, except the campstool portion. Scouts can prepare the campstool before the workshop and bring in for the counselor to approve.

Price includes same-day General Admission, excluding separately priced exhibitions. Scouts must do additional work outside of the workshop to complete merit badge requirements. Bring a sack lunch.

Saturday, December 19, 2009; 10 AM–2 PM
$30 per scout

Find out how creatures move and animals groove! Learn about local animals, their habitats, and how they are interconnected.

Price includes same-day General Admission, excluding separately priced exhibitions. Workshops include a guided walk; come prepared with sturdy shoes and water. Earn two badges in one day! Bring a sack lunch and sign up for both morning and afternoon workshops. Minimum of 10 scouts required for all programs.

Saturday, January 9, 2010; 10 AM–noon
$13 per scout

Be an ecologist for a day as you explore Balboa Park and the San Diego Natural History Museum to discover how plants and animals live together to shape the environment.

Price includes same-day General Admission, excluding separately priced exhibitions. Workshops include a guided walk; come prepared with sturdy shoes and water. Earn two badges in one day! Bring a sack lunch and sign up for both morning and afternoon workshops. Minimum of 10 scouts required for all programs.

Saturday, January 9, 2010; 1–3 PM
$13 per scout

Price includes same-day General Admission, excluding separately priced exhibitions. Workshops include a guided walk; come prepared with sturdy shoes and water. Earn two badges in one day! Bring a sack lunch and sign up for both morning and afternoon workshops. Minimum of 10 scouts required for all programs.

Saturday, January 23, 2010; 10 AM–noon
$13 per scout

In the concrete jungle of San Diego, trees line parkways and are nestled in canyons. Come to Balboa Park, one of the city’s best-known urban forests, and identify your native neighborhood trees.

Price includes same-day General Admission, excluding separately priced exhibitions. Workshops include a guided walk; come prepared with sturdy shoes and water. Earn two badges in one day! Bring a sack lunch and sign up for both morning and afternoon workshops. Minimum of 10 scouts required for all programs.

Saturday, January 23, 2010; 1–3 PM
$13 per scout

Sample the many ways to explore the outdoors with minimal impact on the environment. Use nature as inspiration for art, learn how science and nature are connected, and explore some new outdoor hobbies. Be prepared to head outdoors to enjoy the local trails and gardens of Balboa Park (rain or shine).

Price includes same-day General Admission, excluding separately priced exhibitions. Workshops include a guided walk; come prepared with sturdy shoes and water. Earn two badges in one day! Bring a sack lunch and sign up for both morning and afternoon workshops. Minimum of 10 scouts required for all programs.

Saturday, January 30, 2010; 10 AM–noon
$13 per scout

From the fluoride in your toothpaste to the roof overhead, rocks and minerals exist in our daily lives in many ways. Rocks tell us stories of the past; learn how to read them by exploring the Museum’s diverse collection of rocks, minerals, and fossils. Enjoy a geology hike and start your own rock collection.

Price includes same-day General Admission, excluding separately priced exhibitions. Workshops include a guided walk; come prepared with sturdy shoes and water. Earn two badges in one day! Bring a sack lunch and sign up for both morning and afternoon workshops. Minimum of 10 scouts required for all programs.

Saturday, January 30, 2010; 1–3 PM
$13 per scout

Experience a night at the Museum earning your Eco-Explorer Try-it. With a special focus on habitats in San Diego County, learn what makes our home such a special place for wildlife. Design a habitat to take home, explore DARWIN: Evolution|Revolution, and curl up for the night in an ancient habitat of your choice.

Theme-based overnight programs include General Admission to the Museum, admission to DARWIN: Evolution|Revolution, a giant-screen film, hands-on activities, evening snack, continental breakfast, and a special Museum patch.

Friday, February 5; 6 PM–Saturday, February 6, 2010; 8 AM
$45 per scout; $30 per leader or adult

Boy Scout troops and prospective Eagle Scouts are invited on a special field trip with Bat Biologist Drew Stokes. Meet off-site to learn about bats and perform a site reconnaissance in rural San Diego County. Artificial bat-house building designs will be discussed and assistance given with locating suitable spots for placement of the houses. After the field trip, scouts may return to the site to hang up a bat house which the scout has built. Help collect data on local bats by continuing to monitor the bat house and visiting other bat house locations throughout San Diego County.

$24 per scout
February 6, 2010; 11 AM–1 PM
Advance registration by January 22, 2010, is required.

Plants play a vital role in daily subsistence, from fresh air to food and medicines. Explore the local plant life in Balboa Park while practicing field-botany techniques. A moderate hike is included. Please bring sturdy shoes and water.

Price includes same-day General Admission, excluding separately priced exhibitions. Scouts must do additional work outside of the workshop to complete merit badge requirements. Bring a sack lunch.

Saturday, February 20, 2010; 10 AM–2 PM
$24 per scout

What do plants have to do with our life? Everything—we eat, breathe, and use plants in various ways every day. Discover, through experiments and observation, the plants in our local environment.

Price includes same-day General Admission, excluding separately priced exhibitions. Workshops include a guided walk; come prepared with sturdy shoes and water. Earn two badges in one day! Bring a sack lunch and sign up for both morning and afternoon workshops. Minimum of 10 scouts required for all programs.

Saturday, February 27, 2010; 10 AM–noon
$13 per scout

Be an ecologist for a day as you explore Balboa Park and the San Diego Natural History Museum to discover how plants and animals live together to shape the environment.

Price includes same-day General Admission, excluding separately priced exhibitions. Workshops include a guided walk; come prepared with sturdy shoes and water. Earn two badges in one day! Bring a sack lunch and sign up for both morning and afternoon workshops. Minimum of 10 scouts required for all programs.

Saturday, February 27, 2010; 1–3 PM
$13 per scout

In the concrete jungle of San Diego, trees line parkways and are nestled in canyons. Come to Balboa Park, one of the city’s best-known urban forests, and identify your native neighborhood trees.

Price includes same-day General Admission, excluding separately priced exhibitions. Workshops include a guided walk; come prepared with sturdy shoes and water. Earn two badges in one day! Bring a sack lunch and sign up for both morning and afternoon workshops. Minimum of 10 scouts required for all programs.

Saturday, March 13, 2010; 10 AM–noon
$13 per scout

Experience the splendid outdoors while earning a Naturalist badge! Learn how to identify local plant, insect, and animal species. Enjoy a hike into Florida Canyon and visit the Museum’s insect zoo.

Price includes same-day General Admission, excluding separately priced exhibitions. Workshops include a guided walk; come prepared with sturdy shoes and water. Earn two badges in one day! Bring a sack lunch and sign up for both morning and afternoon workshops. Minimum of 10 scouts required for all programs.

Saturday, March 13, 2010; 1–3 PM
$13 per scout

Enjoy a unique science adventure at the Museum. Go on a fossil dig, discover the rock cycle, and start a rock collection of your own. A guided nature walk is included.

Price includes same-day General Admission, excluding separately priced exhibitions. Scouts must do additional work outside of the workshop to complete merit badge requirements. Bring a sack lunch.

Saturday, March 20, 2010; 10 AM–2 PM
$24 per scout

Explore the relationship between trees, animals, plants, and even raindrops by studying the wildlife in our environment. Tour ancient San Diego County to “meet” wild animals from the past and learn about their present-day relatives. Come prepared for lots of walking, indoors and out.

Price includes same-day General Admission, excluding separately priced exhibitions. Workshops include a guided walk; come prepared with sturdy shoes and water. Earn two badges in one day! Bring a sack lunch and sign up for both morning and afternoon workshops. Minimum of 10 scouts required for all programs.

Saturday, April 3, 2010; 10 AM–noon
$13 per scout

From the dandelion growing in the crack of a sidewalk to the blue whale that calls the ocean its home, wildlife is found in every niche of the world! Discover the ins and outs of wildlife in San Diego County by exploring the local trails and Museum specimens.

Price includes same-day General Admission, excluding separately priced exhibitions. Workshops include a guided walk; come prepared with sturdy shoes and water. Earn two badges in one day! Bring a sack lunch and sign up for both morning and afternoon workshops. Minimum of 10 scouts required for all programs.

Saturday, April 3, 2010; 1–3 PM
$13 per scout

Plants play a vital role in daily subsistence, from fresh air to food and medicines. Explore the local plant life in Balboa Park while practicing field-botany techniques. A moderate hike is included. Please bring sturdy shoes and water.

Price includes same-day General Admission, excluding separately priced exhibitions. Scouts must do additional work outside of the workshop to complete merit badge requirements. Bring a sack lunch.

Saturday, April 10, 2010; 10 AM–2 PM
$24 per scout